What Michael Douglas' films say about the crisis of masculinity

Actor Michael Douglas is pressing pause on his acting career, for now. While he isn't officially calling it retirement, he has said he worked pretty hard for 60 years. And that workload is something culture critic and author Jessa Crispin has been looking into. She examined some of Michael Douglas' biggest hits and says that blockbusters like Wall Street and Basic Instinct embody the anger and paranoia of men rocked by shifting gender roles. Her latest book is called What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (Of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything.

Jesse Mulligan presents an upbeat mix of the curious and the compelling, ranging from the stories of the day to the great questions of our time.

• No. of episodes: 231
• Latest episode: 2025-08-01
• Society & Culture

Where can you listen?